Santosh stays in lead after leg 2 at Desert Storm

India's top rally rider C S Santosh consolidated his lead in the Moto category despite stiff competition from Aaron Mare and Santolino Lorenzo after leg two of the Desert Storm here.

Santosh, representing Hero MotoSports Team Rally, completed the 136 km long stage with a fast yet steady performance, taking three hours and three minutes.

Santosh was not the fastest rider in stage 3 and 4 but still leads the pack by two minutes and 14 seconds.

Angata Racing's Mare produced scorching speed in the sand to be the fastest on day two and second in the overall standings.

Lorenzo of TVS Racing was impressive too, improving to fourth from eighth overall after being the second fastest rider in the stages. Mare and Lorenzo were split by third-placed Sanjay Kumar in the other Angata Racing bike.

The second leg of the Desert Storm took the riders from Bikaner to Jaisalmer that comprised of a special stage of total 136 kms, split between two specials, one in and around Bikaner and the second one closer to Jaisalmer.

The stage offered the riders a fast day with a mix of technical sandy trails and fast hard pack surfaces.

The next leg will take the rally for another day out in Jaisalmer with a 349 km stage spread out in the famous deserts of Sam.

Provisional Results of Leg 2:
1. C S Santosh (Hero MotoSports Team Rally) 03h 03m 06s; 2. Aaron Mare
(Angata Racing) +2m 14s; 3. Sanjay Kumar (Angata Racing) +18m 21s; 4. Santolino Lorenzo